News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville Regional Medical Center announced the elimination of six upper management positions via attrition or elimination in a statement released Wednesday evening.
According to the release, the hospital made the decision due to financial hardships arising out of rising inflation, soaring labor costs, and the discontinuation of various financial assistance. CRMC said it has had no other choice but to undertake a deep and thorough review of all labor and operational expenses at the hospital.
Hospital CEO Paul Korth:
“A reduction in expenses is necessary so we can align our operational costs with patient revenues. The process has been a difficult one for all involved, but unfortunately it was impossible to avoid.”
CFO Tommye Rena Wells said that for the past recent months, expenses have been regularly exceeding revenues, and while this happens from time to time for all hospitals, these continued losses required a change. These include looking at labor costs and additional operational costs.
“Our focus was to do everything possible to reduce expenses while maintaining the highest level of quality and safety for our patient care services” Wells said.
In the upcoming weeks, CRMC said it will continue its analysis to identify other cost savings at the medical center, with the emphasis to retain as many jobs as possible and minimize the impact to patient care service lines.
No names were supplied on the release.
